Unfinished Business
by 3detectives1writer
Summary: A side sequel to Saving KidCastle based on a minor character with mentions of others.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So as it turns out, inspiration struck sooner rather than later. This chapter's kind of short, but you have to start from somewhere, right? This is the story I dedicate to my friend, Madison, the inspiration for the main character. This is basically a side sequel to Saving KidCastle, focused solely on a minor character with mentions of other characters from the other story. I hope you guys like it as I think it's going to be fun to write. I don't know when I'll write the next chapter, but please review as they sometimes make me update faster. Anyway, I'll shut up now so you can read it. **

Prologue

_She was running. She didn't know who or what from, but she was. She felt like she was running over Legos. Her hands burned, blood coating the makeshift bandages around them. Her clothes were in shreds, her shirt barely clinging onto her, the tank top she wore underneath had a bloodstain coating it, and her jeans riddled with holes. Her lungs burned, the smoky atmosphere making it hard to breath. Her eyes stung, the glasses she wore doing very little to protect them._

_ Fire. That's what this room was made of. Fire and very hot, sharp ground. Despite every cell in her body screaming at her to get out of there as soon as possible, she knew she had to finish what she started. She's gotten so far already, sacrificed so much, suffered too much to give up now. She was almost there, just a little bit further… _

_ She finally reached the top. There it was, nestled in a glass case resting on a pedestal mere feet in front of her. It gave off a faint white glow, giving it an angelic, peaceful appearance. The light in the darkness of this place, the only thing that could help her, save her, and she almost has it. She reached for it with a shaky hand._

_ She was inches from grabbing it when she felt a force crash into her from behind. She stumbled, quickly trying to catch herself, but it was too late. She lost her balance and fell, crying out in pain as she hit the sharp, scorching ground. _

_ She was too weak to get up, the sweltering, suffocating heat and the blood loss finally getting to her. The ground a few feet away from her gave way, leaving a path to fall to certain death._

_ She felt herself being slowly dragged towards it, and she desperately clawed at the ground. The ground cut her hands again, but she didn't even register the pain, focusing all her thoughts and strength into not falling into the pit._

_ She hung in midair, a death grip on the ground. The fires below roared as if anticipating her inevitable fall, waiting to engulf her in a slow, painful death. She always considered herself as brave ad fearless, but in this moment, she was terrified, wishing more than anything to be away from here._

_ Her hand slipped, and she fully panicked, tears starting to well up in her eyes. She desperately tried to keep ahold of the ground, but she was so weak and her hand was slipping. _

_ Her hand slipped and she fell. She screamed, eyes screwed shut as she fell into the flames._

She woke with a start, bolting up in bed. She gasped for air, her knuckles white due to the death grip she had on the sheets, beads of sweat slowly making their descent down her face. She slowly calmed down, regulating her breathing as she kept murmuring that it was just a dream.

Wait….sheets? Dream?

That didn't sound right.

It was only then did she really take in her surroundings. She was in a room that looked like her bedroom, exactly in fact, right down to the last detail. There was something off about it…

Everything felt wrong. The sheets were a little too dark, the light a little too bright, everything just seemed…off.

Her instincts sensed that someone else was here. If it were really her room, her home, no one would be up this early, especially making…pancakes?

Only when she heard footsteps approaching her room did the memories come flooding back to her. She kicked away the sheets, running a hand through her messy red hair. Her electric blue eyes showed nothing but confusion as a single question burned in her mind.

Wasn't she supposed to be dead?


	2. A Long Awaited Reunion

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks to my cold, I present you with a new chapter! I'm a little unsure of this one and think it may be a little OOC, but here it is. I hope you're enjoying it so far as it is fun to write. As always, thanks to my friend/almost sister Hannah for your continued support and encouragement and also to my muse, Madison, whom makes Jade who she is. Enjoy and please review!**

Chapter 1

She didn't have much time to dwell on it when her door knob turned. She instinctively reached for the gun she kept by her bed, surprised when she couldn't find it.

"Relax, Jade, I'm not going to hurt you."

Jade froze at the sound of the voice. It's been ten years since that horrible day that marked the beginning of her assassin days. Ten years since she got the blood on her hands that would never wash off and even still appeared fresh in her dreams. It's been ten years, but she still remembered that voice…

Her mother stepped into view, still as beautiful and kind as she remembered. Jade could count on one hand how many times she was left speechless, and this moment added one to the list.

"Mom?" she asked quietly, almost as if she were a little kid again with a nightmare.

"Hello Jade," her mother smiled. She was dressed in the same clothes she died in, minus the blood stain and stab wound of course. She wore a soft blue sweater that matched her eyes, Jade's eyes, that she used to fall asleep against when her mother held her. She also wore a pair of worn jeans with a few drawings on them, a habit Jade also picked up. Her favorite pair of brown combat boots, the ones Jade used to try on all the time were on her feet. Her long brown hair was in a simple braid, appearing almost golden in the right light, strand of it already escaping it.

Her smile was as radiant as she remembered, always making her feel better after a bad day. Jade envied her mother and always strived to be as graceful and beautiful as she remembered her to be.

Her mother extended her arms out, inviting Jade into a hug. Jade escaped the frozen state and hesitantly got off her bed. She cautiously stepped into her mother's embrace, and her mother hugged her for the first time in ten years.

She even smelled like she remembered. She smelled like chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, Jade's favorite, and the perfume that she loved that her biological father had given her for her birthday. She smelled like…home.

The hug reopened an old wound, and the famous Jade Michael Castillo nearly broke down. The small, stubborn part of her hung onto control, rapidly repairing the chip in the wall surrounding her heart.

"It's okay to cry, you know. It's just me, your mom. You never have to be strong in front of me," her mother said softly.

"I don't like crying," Jade mumbled into her mother's shoulder.

"I know, but if you need to, you can," her mother said.

The repairs continued, her emotions battling against it. The emotions won, and tears welled in her eyes. A few trailed down her face, and for one in Jade's entire life, she broke down.

Delia Castillo held her daughter as she cried, her hand running through her soft, red curls. A few tears slipped down her face as well. While she was happy to see her daughter, she wished it were under different circumstances. She wished her daughter didn't have to die.

Eventually, the tears stopped as if she had none left to shed. Her walls reconstructed itself slowly, the moment of weakness gone.

Jade was back to her old self again, the girl who pushed aside her emotions and focused on the facts.

"Where am I?" Jade asked. "That is a little complicated to explain…" Delia trailed off. "Is this what they call Heaven or Elysium or whatever or is it…the other place?" Jade asked. She was in interrogator mode now, an emotionless mask on her face.

"Put simply, this place is where all the souls with unfinished business go to," Delia explained.

"Why are you here?" Jade asked. "My unfinished business is to take care of you, Red. So is your father's," Delia smiled.

"Wait…Daddy's here?" Jade asked quietly.

"Yes, I am," a voiced coming from the hall said. She also remembered that voice. That voice used to read her bedtime stories when she stayed with him while her mother and Bracken were having their weekly major fight. He always used to make her laugh, spoiled her with sugar and gifts, and told the best stories. In a way, he was like Richard Castle. That's probably why she loved Castle's books so much…

Her father stepped into her room. He was handsome and tall. She'd gotten her ginger locks from him, and he was every bit of the Weasley twins from _Harry Potter_. His eyes sparkled with mischief, his smiled a boyish one. His clothes, like her mother's, were the same as when he died, minus the bullet wound and blood.

"Hey Michael," he smiled, giving her a side hug. Her dad was the only one who called her by her middle name.

Jade smiled before returning to her business persona. "If I'm dead, why are you guys still here?"

"We're only here to guide you through your…quest. It's why you're here. Your story isn't finished yet. Only if you succeed can you go to the place some call Heaven or Elysium," her dad explained.

"Wait, can you still die even if you're already dead?" Jade asked curiously.

Neither of her parents answered. Their silence was answer enough.

"What do I have to do?" she asked instead.

"Rest first. You are still weak and need time to regain your strength," Delia said. "Don't worry; we'll still be here when you wake up," her dad said.

They both tucked Jade in like they used to do sometimes when she was little. For once in a very long time, Jade felt a part of a real family again.

She cuddled with her doll and tigress, her two most precious possessions. Exhaustion overtook her, and her eyes slowly closed. That's when the dreams, or rather nightmares, started…


	3. The Prophecy

**A/N: Sorry again for not updating sooner. Life got in the way, and I have been very busy. But lucky for you guys, I have a three-day weekend, so you guys get a chapter! I hope you are enjoying this story so far as it is fun to write despite the occasional writer's block. I'm not really sure of this chapter as I think it's a little fast paced, but this is how it wanted to be written. It'll get better, I promise; I just have to get through all the boring stuff first. **

Chapter 2

She first heard a booming voice start to speak. It was calling her name until she was focused on it. Then it began to speak, a prophecy she realized.

_Five are needed to succeed, in order to undo the deed._

_One who is pure, _

_And one whose strength is sure._

_One with a soothing touch, _

_And one who relies on wits too much._

_And the last one who protects us all._

_Should you fail to complete the quest, _

_Then you are doomed to an eternal distress._

The voice faded and an image appeared. She sees a burger joint. Remy's was it called? The image was focused on a woman, a woman she knew. Holly McCray. She was reading a book as she ate her food, apparently waiting for someone.

Why would she be seeing her? The image changed, and this time it showed a man who also looked familiar….Wait, was that? It couldn't be….

"Owen," she tried to say, but her voice abandoned her. "Mr. McCaffrey, sir, welcome home," a man who was probably a butler said. "Thanks John, but please call me Lincoln," Owen said. His name was Lincoln McCaffrey?

Before she had time to think, the image changed again. A young woman, maybe around Alexis Castle's age, was sitting on a park bench with her face buried in a book. She had shoulder length dark straight hair covered by a My Little Pony hat, thick black framed glasses, and was wearing dark skinny jeans and a band shirt of some kind.

The next image came up, and this time it was a prominent business man. He looked young but incredibly intelligent. He was standing in front of a building. She guessed it was his office. Flynn Innovations. No way. He was Andrew Flynn, the young billionaire who not only owned a tech company but was also a skilled pilot.

The image faded, which gave her time to think. Prophecies are annoying. They don't just tell you what to do straightforward. No, you have to figure out this complicated riddle stuff.

Okay, time to think. The first line was easy. It meant that she basically had to kill five people in ghost form. Sounds fun. The next lines were not as simple. What did they mean one who is pure and one whose strength is sure? And that other stuff?

The last line was clear though. It meant that she basically can't fail or she would be in eternal torment. Maybe the images were of the people she had to kill? But there were only four of them….

She felt the darkness stir again, and the last image appeared. Unlike the others, it appeared slower, fragments at first, almost as if it didn't want to be seen. It was an apartment, a cozy one for a small family. It wasn't over the top, but it had a very homey feel to it.

She heard a baby's cry and soon the image of a blonde woman holding a baby appeared. Jade knew they weren't the target though.

She heard a door open and a man's footsteps heading towards the woman and the baby. She saw black dress shoes and gray dress pants first before she saw the grey sweater vest, white shirt and grey tie he was wearing. Something told her he was the one, the fifth sacrifice.

When she saw his face, her eyes widened. Why? Why him of all people? She had no quarrel with him, and he had a family for god sakes, a newborn baby girl.

Because she saw the smiling face of Detective Kevin Ryan, and she knew she had to kill him.

**A/N: I'm just going to go…..over there. *runs for the hills***


	4. Haunting Pasts

**A/N: Wow, an update that didn't take about a month to write. Something must be wrong with me. Anyway, this chapter is basically just a filler chapter before the real fun starts. The fact that I call it fun is further proof that I've been hanging out with my muse too much. Next chapter should have an appearance of the original Castle characters, and they shall start appearing more often in the next few chapters. Anyway, enjoy and please review. As always, thanks to my muse Madison for her influence in this story and to you, the readers, for your continued support in this story.**

Chapter 3

She stumbled into reality again, but she wasn't sure if this was the dream or if the other thing was the dream. For all she knew, she could be lying in a hospital bed somewhere in a coma. Or maybe she was dying and instead of reliving her life in 20 seconds, she was making up some twisted fantasy world where she had to murder people.

On the bright side, at least she doesn't have to worry about a lot of things. She doesn't have to brush her unruly mass of curls every morning, remember to eat, have to decide what to wear, do chores such as her laundry or keeping her room clean, take a shower, use the restroom, or remember how to be polite and social with people. She had to admit, being dead has its perks.

She was in her room again, and she called out to her parents. No response. She tried again. Silence.

Jade was growing anxious and slowly started panicking. She didn't do silence. It drove her crazy and made her do irrational things.

She instinctively reached for her gun. This time it was there. She felt the familiar cool steel in her hands, her finger hovering over the trigger, ready to fire. It was loaded and ready for her to shoot. Yes, this was her favorite gun. She'd gotten it from a guy. She thinks his name was Jerry Tyson. He'd used a different name when she met him, but she did a little research and found out who he really was. Actually, the gun originally belonged to Detective Kevin Ryan….the same man she had to kill.

"Again with the guns?"

No. It couldn't be. She-she was dead. Well, Jade was dead too, but she never expected to see her again.

Sure enough, she came into her room. Lindsay Paige Strauss. Her first love.

She met her a few years back, maybe when she was 9 or 10. Lindsay was 12 years old at the time. Jade was undercover at a boarding school, and Lindsay befriended her.

Her father had advised against making friends, but Jade was helpless to resist. Lindsay was kind to her, and being the young girl she was, she still secretly craved the comfort and kindness her mother had shown her. Lindsay became her role model, her confidant, and above all, her friend.

Jade soon started having feelings for her as the first semester drew to a close. She couldn't help it even if she wanted to. Lindsay was a very beautiful girl. She had beautiful long curly blonde hair and light blue eyes. Her skin was pale, and she had a wonderful British accent since she was from there and lived there not long ago. She looked unreal, almost like a doll.

Her father somehow caught onto Jade's feelings for Lindsay. He was furious, especially since she loved a girl of all people (After all, he was a homophobe). He forbade Jade from speaking to Lindsay and immediately assigned her a person to kill.

Jade would've normally done it without question, but the target was Lindsay's sister, Mary. She was going to do it, but Lindsay caught onto what she was doing. Jade spared Mary's life for Lindsay.

Naturally, Bracken was not happy. That was the last straw for him.

So on March 13th, 2008, he hired Maddox to kill Lindsay. She bled to death from a stab wound to her abdomen. She died in pain all because Jade had feelings for her.

From that day on, Bracken never let Jade have friends with the exception of Ruby since he owed her father and Ruby a favor. Lindsay was an example for Jade, and that's why Jade was so distant and never let anyone get close to her. This was also the last straw for Jade, and that day marked the start of her plan to murder Bracken or destroy him.

Seeing Lindsay was bittersweet for her. As much as she was happy to see her, seeing her again reopened an old wound, and the guilt she felt was still there.

Jade lowered the gun with trembling hands, quickly trying to regain her composure. Her hands were still shaking after she put the gun away, so she balled them up into fists. She slowly climbed down and walked until she was facing Lindsay.

Jade looked older than Lindsay now, even though Lindsay would be about 18 if she hadn't died. It was strange to see her, and old feelings resurfaced.

"Where are my parents?" Jade asked. "What? No hello, how have you been?" Lindsay teased. Jade didn't even blink. "They're around, but a higher power decided that I would be a better choice as a guide," Lindsay explained.

"Guide?"

"Yes, guide. I am here to help you on you quest," Lindsay said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door frame.

Jade was silent for a little bit before looking down at her feet and mumbling, "I missed you."

Lindsay smiled and hugged Jade. Jade flinched but eventually hugged her back. "Missed you too," Lindsay said.

Lindsay released her from the hug with a small smile before saying, "C'mon, let's get started."


End file.
